Owing to enhanced comprehensibility and effortless interpretation of a three-dimensional image, popularity of visually representing information by way of three-dimensional images has increased exponentially. With advancements in technology, display technologies now allow for realistically representing two-dimensional images, as well as three-dimensional images. Therefore, nowadays, three-dimensional imagery is used in the fields of education (for example, to show three-dimensional models to students at schools and colleges), civil engineering, air traffic control management (for example, to model airspace surrounding an airport), architecture, military (for example, to depict topographical models of battlefields), and the like.
Nowadays, several techniques are employed to present three-dimensional imagery. In a first example, three-dimensional information associated with a given environment of interest (for example, such as, a neighborhood) may be represented by way of arranging sand on a table to create a scaled three-dimensional model of the given environment (terrain). Optionally the surface of the sand structures can be utilized as projection screen and complemented by additional information via top-down image projection. However, such three-dimensional sand models require large set-up time to display a single three-dimensional view and are not easily portable. Moreover, the true three-dimensionality is captured only within static relief-based formations, while typically dynamically changing information is represented as a 2D projection. Therefore, to overcome limitations associated with the sand tables two-dimensional displays may be employed. In a second example, two-dimensional displays such as liquid crystal displays (LCD) are employed to present three-dimensional images of a given three-dimensional object/scene thereupon. Typically, when three-dimensional images are presented on conventional two-dimensional displays (such as liquid crystal displays, light-emitting diode based displays, and the like) the user perceives the depth of the 3D scene via psychological depth cues—such as perspective, shadowing, occlusion etc. However, such displays fail to present physical depth cues which are essential for a realistic representation of three-dimensional images and subsequently such images lack comprehensibility and coherence. In a third example, devices such as three-dimensional printers may be employed to overcome the limitations associated with the two-dimensional displays. However, this approach is rather similar to sand-tables. 3D-printing operations are very time consuming and fail to provide a realistic real-time three-dimensional representation of a dynamic content. In a fourth example, modern three-dimensional display technologies such as stereoscopic displays may be employed for a realistic three-dimensional representation of the given three-dimensional object/scene. However, there also exist limitations associated with such technologies related to three-dimensional imaging for example, such as, vergence-accommodation conflict leading to eye fatigue (thereby, preventing prolonged use of such technologies). In a fifth example, head-mounted stereo displays may be employed to provide higher degree of freedom for movement. Nevertheless, the added bulkiness of a head-mounted display may strain muscles, also wearable obstructing constructions limit interpersonal communication. Moreover, besides added benefits of higher immersion in the 3D content, head mounted stereoscopic displays also cause accommodation-convergence conflict. Thus, longer wearing and viewing periods of head-mounted display technologies cause discomfort and hinder the concentration of the user. In a sixth example, the three-dimensional graphical content may be presented on multi-view displays. Such multi-view displays approximate the 3D scene by providing a limited number of views (from different angles/perspectives) to users. However, approach of displaying multiple views of a 3D scene requires a rather complicated image processing thus limiting practically displayable number of views. Thus, typically the three-dimensional image suffers from lower resolution and/or practically usable viewing angle. Consequently, the multi-view displays do not provide comprehensible representation of the three-dimensional image. In a seventh example, the multi-view displays may be replaced by technologies such as light-field technologies to overcome limitations associated therewith. Such light-field technologies employ multiple image projectors to provide a significantly good resolution three-dimensional representation of the images. Furthermore, such technologies require longer processing time owing to intensive computation. Subsequently, real-time representation of the three-dimensional image may be limited and/or require large computational resources.
Presently, to overcome the limitations associated with the aforesaid techniques, volumetric-type displays are increasingly being employed to present the three-dimensional imagery. Such a volumetric-type displays employ projection equipment for projecting light in a three-dimensional volume to create a realistic three-dimensional image of a given three-dimensional object/scene. However, there are a number of limitations associated with employing conventional volumetric-type displays for presenting the realistic three-dimensional image of the given three-dimensional object/scene, such as difficulty in scalability, computationally intensive data processing, and the like.
Therefore, in the light of the foregoing discussion, there exists a need to overcome the aforementioned drawbacks associated with conventional techniques employed for presenting three-dimensional imagery.